And We All Play Our Parts
by Shadow Flange
Summary: After traumatic experiences with a newly-evil boyfriend and the Judge, the Slayer wishes for nothing more than a normal life. But in Sunnydale, there's no such thing as a wish without consequences...(Begins in S2)
1. Blow Out the Candles

**Disclaimers**: I don't own these characters blah blah blah you all know the drill.

**Author Note**: My friend the amazing Portakeeper87 (check out her stuff!) got me hooked on Buffy recently. This past month I've watched all of Seasons 1, 4, 7, and more than half of 2. Yup! So this story is all thanks to her and her insane craziness. This is my first Buffy fic by the way. Set in S2 end of Innocence. Tell me what you think!

***

"Mm. I'm sorry I didn't have the time to make you a real cake..." Joyce apologized.

"No, this is good." Buffy insisted giving her mother a rather halfhearted smile.

Joyce sat down on the couch, propping her legs up on the coffee table. 

"But we're still going shopping on Saturday."

Joyce Summers glanced at her daughter expectantly. Buffy was uncharacteristically reticent today. She paused. "So, what'd you do for your birthday? Did you have fun?"

_Fun,_ Buffy thought, savoring the irony. _I guess the surprise party was all right. Except for the fact that Miss Insane-in-the-Membrane and Captain Peroxide thought it would be 'fun' to put Humpty-Dumpty back together again and wreak havoc on the world. Not to mention Angel._

Tears nearly sprang into her eyes and her heart twisted in agony at the mere thought of his name. She loved him. And he had wounded her deeper than any blade. But she had cried enough for him. No, she would shed no more tears for Angelus. Buffy lowered her head and answered softly, "I got older."

Joyce frowned, looking at her daughter's solemn face. "You look the same to me."

The older woman leaned forward, striking a match to light the single candle perched atop the mountains of icing on the vanilla cupcake. Snuffing the match out, she turned to Buffy, smiling gently. "Happy Birthday. Now I don't have to sing, do I?"

"No"

"Well, go on, make a wish." Joyce motioned towards the flickering candle.

Buffy stared at the billowing orange flame.

_Like wishing for things to change would be of any use. I'm the slayer. There's no way out except death. And I don't really need to wish for death. 'Cause Angel, Drusilla, and Spike can take care of that.  As well as my loyal demon pals. And Robots. And Witches.  I never asked for this kind of life. I never wanted to be the Chosen One. I just wish I were a normal girl. A normal girl with a normal life. Like that's gonna happen._

_She turned away from the candle._

"I'll just let it burn."

***

_"Sleep tight, my love…"_

Buffy woke with a start, fumbling at the quilt that had been draped over her. The steady rise and fall of her mother's chest indicated that Joyce had fallen asleep as well. Buffy yawned. The movie was almost over.__

_" …Goodnight, my love."_

She brushed an errant strand of hair away from her face and hugged her knees to her chest. The candle had melted to a tiny misshapen pile of wax, now attached to the top of her birthday cupcake. But the flame was still twinkling brightly. She leaned forward and gently blew it out.

Complete. Utter. Darkness.

_"Remember that you're mine, sweetheart…"_


	2. Of Rubber Stakes and HalfHouses

**Author's Note:** Stole some lines from S7 Ep.15 "Get it Done". I'll try to update as often as possible, a few times a week if my schedule's not too demanding. Comments would be greatly appreciated. Thanks and enjoy!

***

The world slowly became bright. Unnaturally bright. As if lit by a hundred hot bulbs of glowing artificial light. Buffy blinked, her pupils not yet adjusted to the brilliance, letting the world swim groggily back into focus. Heckuva candle that was. She felt like she had been bashed against a brick wall. Multiple times. She rubbed her temples, willing the impending headache to go away when a strangely familiar voice with a smooth British accent interrupted her thoughts.

"I vote dead. The slayer's counting on you, Willow. Get cracking on that portal, and don't be stingy with the mojo. The demon's mine."

"Hate to say it, 'Big Bad,' but you look like you can barely stand. We're trained. And the only thing we know for sure about this demon is it kicked your ass," a brash girl's voice cut in scornfully.

Where am I? 

Buffy shook her head and looked around her. _I can see. That's a plus. _She was still in her living room, or more precisely _half_ of her living room since the entire front wall and the ceiling were cheerfully absent. In their place, there were strings of stage lights and a row of strange people with cameras and stacks of papers…and was that a demon she just saw wander through the door? _Can you say 'Invasion of Privacy'? _She thought, glancing around in befuddlement. Not to mention the horde of unfamiliar teenage girls infesting _her_ couch and _her_ floor. And there, squeezed between the masses of teenage faces were Giles, Willow, Xander, and--

She gasped. 

That sardonic British voice…she should've known.

Spike.

No time for questions, dust now, then ask. After all, this could be her only chance to get him. Her slayer instincts kicked in and she dashed forward, expertly de-legging a nearby chair, and lunged at the black-clad vampire –

**_"CUT!"_**

Caught off guard, the Slayer dropped her makeshift stake and spun around searching for the speaker.

A man of medium height and curly brown hair strolled angrily into her half-living room.

 "Sarah! What the hell are you doing? You aren't even supposed to be in this scene! Demon. Blue Portal. Over there remember?!" He made frantic waving motions with his hands and raised his eyebrows at her. "What are you waiting for? Get off the set!"

She blinked. _Who the heck was this? And who is he yelling at? …And what's with these girls? Whatever, it doesn't matter right now. Spike's the first priority. Just how did he get into my house anyway? Not like I invited him in…must be 'cause of the whole half-house mess. Guess he doesn't need an invitation to come through an open wall._

"I'm sorry sir, you're in grave danger right now, please excuse me for a moment." She replied in her best I'm-a-flight-attendent-and-the-airplane-is-crashing-please-remain-calm-voice. She turned and ran at the vampire who was, to her astonishment, steadily backing away.

"Um…Sarah…you okay there?" 

_Where did his British accent go? And why is everyone calling me Sarah?_ She wondered idly, searching for a replacement stake. _Ah, there! Perfect, a real stake._

"Jeez, this stupid pre-fight-word-clash is starting to get old. Let's just get it over with." Buffy said, grabbing the stake and advancing on him threateningly. She grinned in spite of herself at the look of abject horror on Spike's pale face.

"Okay, maybe just a few witty insults. You're gonna be one sorry blood-sucker once I figure out what you did to my house and my friends." She paused and rubbed her chin in mock thoughtfulness. "Actually, you won't be, 'cause I think I'm just gonna kill you now."

With that, she dove at him, easily pinning him to the ground, her stake cocked back tightly in her fist. He didn't even put up a struggle, but she didn't stop to wonder why. The sharp wooden stick came down in a flashing arc, solidly striking the panicked vampire full in the chest.

Spike's jaw dropped in shock.

Buffy grinned triumphantly. "Not so tough now are ya?"

Spike stared back at her and blinked.

Buffy smiled patiently, waiting for him to turn to dust.

Spike coughed.

Buffy slowly pulled her hand back and furrowed her brow in puzzlement.

"Okay, why are you not dead? Well, technically you are dead, but I mean…_dead_ dead."

The Slayer didn't wait for a response. Instead, she shrugged and proceeded to pound the stake into the vampire repeatedly, finally stopping when she felt arms wind themselves around her own. She was slowly lifted away from the vampire who had now backed into a corner and was cowering there like a scared pup.

"Let me go! You don't understand! It must be some spell or something…he's got you all thinking he's not evil but don't let him fool you cause he's bad, I mean, he's Spike remember? William the Bloody? Torture via railroad spikes hence the name 'Spike'? Now let me go!"

Buffy struggled wildly against the hands that held her captive. She lifted her head to meet the questioning blue eyes of her Watcher.

"Giles? Thank god! Someone with an ounce of sense here. Look-- "

"Okay hon. First off, that's a rubber stake you got there. Second, what the heck is wrong with you?"


	3. Monsters

**Author's Note: **Sorry 'bout the delay! One more day and I am free from evil physics! I will probably be able to update much more frequently after this. Anyways, enjoy! (And gimme some feedback!)

Buffy's mind reeled in confusion. Hundreds of conspiracy theories, apocalypse scenarios, and doom plans flooded through her head. _It must be Spike. Why else would everybody be acting so strangely? But if Spike is the one who cast this spell…wait…can he even cast spells? _For some reason, the image of Spike sitting pretzel-style in a circle of candles and herbs didn't come readily into her mind. _Okay, well if he did…how come I'm not affected…and why isn't he attacking me? He hardly even made an attempt to stop me. _The normally cocky and sardonic vampire hadn't even spat out one sarcastic comment. He practically stood there and let her pummel his face in. _Maybe this isn't Spike's doing after all. But then why is he here?! _Nothing made sense. _And why is everyone staring at me like I'm some kind of lunatic?_

Giles reached forward and placed his palm on the Slayer's forehead concernedly.

"Perhaps we should take her to the hospital…"

Through the chaos of Buffy's mind, that one word emerged and quashed all other thoughts.  _Hospital equals BAD_. In big capital letters. Her friends were obviously going to be of no help since they all had no idea what was going on. She was alone in this. _And they are NOT going to take me to the hospital, _she thought grimly.

Buffy sighed, knowing there was only one way out of this situation.

She brought her fist up into her Watcher's face and sent Xander flying into the coffee table with a kick. 

"Sorry!" She apologized sheepishly and with that, sprinted through the door, leaving behind a very confused and befuddled group of actors and actresses.

***

Sarah stretched her arms out, yawning. She opened her eyes, rubbing away the remnants of sleep and gazed around blearily.

Must've fallen asleep. I wonder if Joss has finished with the living room scene yet.

The young woman was just about to get to her feet when she realized that she was _in_ the living room.

Must've been sleeping a lot longer than I thought. No…how could they film with me sleeping on the couch? Come to think of it, I don't even remember going to sleep here in the first place.

Very strange.

Sarah got up and walked to the door, opening it hesitantly.

She gasped in surprise. Trees, houses, a road. Chill wind blowing, moon and stars in the sky. Either the set people had built one hell of a realistic set in the hour she was sleeping or she was in an actual house in an actual neighborhood.

Neither explanation seemed very realistic to her.

Shocked, she walked vacantly along the sidewalk, hoping to encounter someone who would tell her what was going on. 

I must be dreaming. Or maybe someone put drugs in my food and I'm hallucinating. Or perhaps –

THUD! 

Deep in thought, she hadn't even seen the dark-clad man standing in the middle of the sidewalk.

"Oh! Excuse me, I'm so sor– _James_? James! God you don't know how glad I am to see you!"

Spike stared at the blond girl. Looked like the Slayer, smelt like the Slayer, but definitely was not the Slayer. 

_Why is she smiling at me like that? What's wrong with her? And who is James?_

His eyes widened in surprise as she leaped forwards and wrapped her arms around him in a friendly hug.

"B-Buffy?" was all that the vampire managed to sputter.

She let go of him and laughed, "James, you're so silly sometimes."

Silly? The Slayer had just called him silly. Something was seriously wrong here.

"Okay, look here pet, I'm Spike, the vampire. You are Buffy, the vampire slayer. Get it?"

"Yeah okay, you can drop the act now. Wanna tell me what's going on?"

Spike looked at her incredulously. Then realization dawned upon him.

"Very clever. You almost had me fooled there Slayer. Your stupid bloody trick is not going to work on me. Now why don't _you_ drop the act and tell me what's going on here?"

"What? What are you tal--"

There was a sudden rustling in the bushes and Spike froze. He cocked his head, motioning for the blonde to shut up.

She opened her mouth to protest just as something sprang out of the bushes and lunged for her throat.

Sarah could only describe it as something straight from a nightmare. It almost looked human. Except for the ridged forehead, yellow eyes, and razor-sharp fangs; it had to be a vampire. But they had never looked this real or horrifying before on the show.

She screamed as the demon leapt towards her.

Spike didn't know what possessed him to save the slayer. Perhaps it had something to do with the fact that she seemed a bit wonky and it wouldn't be fair to just let the insane slayer die.

Game face on, he dove at the demon, pinning it to the pavement.

He glanced up at the terrified slayer. "Stake would be nice ya know?"

"Oh my god…" _James is a monster. I've got to get out of here._

She ran.


End file.
